CHAPTER 21:

THE SECOND BATTLE FOR ZIL PADON

"Okay," Justin shouted. "Sue! Rapp! Guido! You three take command of the archers. Lead them to the top of the city walls. When the Battlers arrive, the archers will be the first to attack them. Liete! Hover above the city. You can fight the Battlers with your magic from above. Gadwin! You take command of the swordsmen. Mullen, Leen, and the three sergeants can help him. And you, Milda, you don't need to command anyone. You're an army all by yourself. Got it, everyone? Okay, then, form divisions!!" The entire army formed their divisions, readying for battle.

"Justin," Feena began. "What about me? Don't you think I'm capable?"

Justin put his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "Of course I do, Feena. I haven't forgot about you." He tightened his grip on her shoulder. "The reason I haven't assigned you anything is because...well...would you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"When the Battlers show up, would it be too much trouble for you could fight by my side?"

"Okay, but why?"

Justin moved in closer to Feena. "We'll give each other strength. We'll be able to look out for each other. And, besides...if this is our last stand...there's no one else in the world who I'd rather die with." He leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I love you," he whispered into her ear. Looking back into her eyes, he noticed that they had suddenly become tearful. All of a sudden, she flung her arms around his neck, and slammed her lips against his. He wrapped his arms around her and began running his fingers through her hair.

Feena pulled away rather hesitantly. "Justin...please...please, be careful."

"Yeah. You too. Be careful, I mean."

An hour passed, and there was still no sign of the Battlers. Many of the warriors were becoming very nervous.

"You think they chickened out?" Justin asked Feena.

"Either that," she replied, "or they're going to try to take us by surprise."

Rain began to fall from the sky as a thunderstorm passed over the city. Suddenly, the earth shook, and a large, purple, clawed foot shot out of the ground from the center of the city, leaving a gaping hole in the ground. The entire Battler army poured out of the hole and charged at the warriors.

"Holy shit!" Justin exclaimed. "They're attacking us from the inside out!"

Even worse, it seemed that when Gaia evolved, the Battlers did as well. This Battler army was made up of many new kinds of Battlers. They looked and walked just like seven-foot, featherless emus. Unlike emus, however, they had no beaks. Instead, they had a pair of large, gnashing jaws strong enough to bite through human bone. Even worse were the talons on their tiny arms and birdlike feet, which were, at the most, about a foot long. Like the original Battlers, these ones were blind, having no eyes. They didn't really need them with their tiny heat-sensing organs, located above their mouth.

Baal and Sethylos then emerged from the hole in the ground. Baal surveyed the landscape before him and breathed in heavily. "CHARGE!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The creatures opened their mouths, emitted ear-splitting shrieks, and charged. Even with Guido's reinforcements, the warriors didn't seem to be a match for these new Battlers. In 10 seconds, Justin's army had already lost at least a fifty soldiers. The Battlers were too quick for the warriors. Whenever a Battler charged towards a warrior, it would almost always sink its teeth into his throat before he even had a chance to raise his weapon.

Justin looked around at the chaos surrounding him. He could tell that his army was losing. Blood from the warriors flooded the ground. Then, he felt his feet leave the ground, and he collided into a brick wall. He looked up, his ears ringing, and saw Baal walking towards him. Baal narrowed his eyes on Justin, his face scrunched up in concentration. Justin felt his head bang mercilessly against the wall, nearly knocking him out. Baal was using his psychic powers on him. Justin attempted to reach for his sword, but Baal had too powerful of a "grip" on him. Justin felt his head pull back and slam against the wall once again. He felt a liquid running down into his eyes, and noticed that it was blood. He expected to feel his head rear back again, but it didn't. He then noticed that he had control over himself again. He turned his head to Baal. Feena had wrapped her whip around Baal's neck, breaking his concentration on Justin.

After much effort, Baal pried Feena off his neck, and threw her to the ground. "I'll deal with you two later," he growled, and he ran back into the darkness.

"You okay, Justin?" Feena asked, nursing his head wound.

"I'll be fine," he answered, though feeling very lightheaded. He looked up at his army. Almost all of the soldiers were dead.

"Justin! Help!" Sue's voice called out. He turned to see Sue and Rapp running towards them. A Battler was right behind them, snapping at their heels. Justin drew his sword, and charged towards the Battler. He leaped into the air, and brought it down upon the creature. The sword had cut the Battler, but not enough to do any lasting damage. Its exoskeleton was too tough. The Battler slammed its head against him, and sent him flying. When he hit the ground, he looked up and saw the Battler charging towards him, its jaws wide open.

Guido ran up from behind the Battler and leaped into the air. "BABBALOO!!!!!" he shouted as he flew over the creature. He landed on its head, which it didn't seem to like at all, for it began to snap violently at the Mogay. Holding on tightly, Guido jabbed his daggers into either side of the Battler's skull. It howled in agony, thrashing about as Guido pushed the daggers in deeper. The creature ceased its screeching, and made a gurgling sound as blood dribbled out of every opening in its head. It swayed from side to side and fell dead onto the cobblestone.

"Well, that's-a one-a down out of a thousand," Guido said to himself.

"We'd better get out of here," Justin suggested as Liete came down from her hovering spot.

"I'm not leaving without my sister!" Feena exclaimed. "Where is she, anyway?"

"Over here!" Leen called out as she ran towards them with Mullen. They were both bleeding in various places on their bodies.

"Where are the three sergeants?" Justin asked.

"They...er...didn't make it," Leen answered, looking down at the ground.

"Let's just get out of here," Feena suggested.

They crept out into the street, hoping not to be spotted by one of the Battlers. Unfortunately, an entire group of Battlers was blocking their only escape from the city.

"We might be able to sneak around them," Feena whispered.

They sneaked behind a building, only to come across another Battler. It was gnawing on a bloody human torso that it held in its puny arms. It turned its head towards them and snarled, revealing fragments of flesh and bone wedged in between its bloodstained teeth.

"We should all run," Justin said. "We should all run...NOW!!!"

They turned and ran back the way they came, the Battler easily keeping up with them. The rest of the Battlers followed. They ran into the Mogay Villiage.

"Quick! In-a here!" Guido shouted, motioning towards his house. He opened the door and let everyone in, then closed the door behind himself and locked it.

All of a sudden, three screams rang out from the other side of the room. Justin turned around to see the sergeants cowering in a corner. "Didn't make it, huh?" he asked Leen sarcastically.

"Hey, this was our first exposure to hand-to-hand combat!" Saki explained. "You never told us that it would be that violent!"

"What do you think happens in hand-to-hand combat?" Justin sighed.

The Battlers banged against the door, trying to get in.

"What do we do?" Feena asked. "We're trapped!"

A clawed foot kicked its way through the door. Scratching noises from above told them that some Battlers were now on the roof.

Justin thought desperately for a plan. 'These new Battlers are immune to the Power of the Icarians,' he thought to himself. 'And the Power of the Hero and the Icarian won't work, either. Agron said so.' Suddenly, he remembered something else that Agron had told them.

"Listen, guys," he began. "We might still be able to save our hides."

"How?!" Mullen protested. "You saw what those things were like in battle. They were practically invincible!"

"Maybe, but even the toughest things have a weakness or two. Why don't we give the Heroes and Icarians a chance?"

"Justin, don't you remember what Agron told us?! These Battlers are immune to the Power of the Hero and Icarian!"

"Yeah, he did say that. But, remember something else he said?"

"What's that?"

"There are TWO Heroes and TWO Icarians! And you're one of them, Mullen! Feena and I may not be able to take these guys alone. But if you and Leen help us, we'll be twice as strong as before!"

A window shattered as a Battler rammed its head through it. They were running out of time!

"What do you say, guys?" Justin asked.

Mullen paused for a moment. "Okay, we'll try it," he finally replied. "But, if we die, don't you even think that I'll forgive you for this."

The door suddenly broke from its hinges and fell to the ground. The Battlers rushed into the room, jaws wide open, eager to taste the blood of their next victims.

"Do it, now!!" Justin hollered over the screeching of the Battlers.

Feena and Leen both unfolded their wings of light, while Justin and Mullen drew their swords. What happened next was a complete surprise to everyone. It wasn't like when Justin and Feena alone used the Power. It was much different. A bright green and red light filled the entire room.

Justin shielded his eyes against the blinding light, a warm, pleasant feeling surging through him. He opened his eyes as the light ceased, expecting to see thousands of dead and dying Battlers lying on the ground all around him. His eyes then filled with horror when he instead saw thousands of Battlers standing around him, unscathed.

"Justin," Feena began. "It...didn't...work."

Justin couldn't believe it. This was their only chance for survival, and they blew it. This was it. This was finally the end. But, the Battlers didn't attack them. They weren't even moving. They were too busy looking upwards at 'something'. Then, Justin heard a deep growling from behind him. Spinning around, he came face to face with an enormous dragon.

The dragon was about fifty feet long, with scarlet colored scales covering its entire body, and long, golden spikes running down its back, which sported a pair of large, golden, bat-like wings. Its face was like that of a scaly, hairless lion, with a long pair of catfish-like whiskers.

Justin and his accomplices were paralyzed with a mixture of awe and fear. They had encountered a dragon once in Gumbo Village, and it was downright nasty. This dragon, however, did not look malicious or dangerous. Even though it had long, sharp, and wicked-looking teeth and claws, this dragon was rather soothing and gentle in appearance.

The dragon snorted, blowing a short spurt of smoke from its large, gaping nostrils. Justin decided to throw caution to the wind, and he walked slowly towards it.

"Justin! Stop!" Feena shrieked. "Justin, are you insane?!"

The dragon, however, only stared back at Justin. It lowered its giant head down to the ground, and rested it beside him. Justin slowly reached his hand out and stroked the dragon's head. It didn't feel reptilian at all. Its skin felt bumpy like a reptile's, but it also felt quite warm, indicating that it was not a reptile. 'Where'd he come from?' he thought to himself.

Suddenly, the dragon raised its head and drew in a deep breath. It then opened its mouth wide, and an enormous, blue stream of flame was blasted out of it.

Justin shut his eyes tightly as the inferno came down upon him. But, he didn't feel any burning. He opened his eyes, and they widened in amazement when he saw the flames licking his body. But he didn't feel any pain, none at all. He looked behind him and saw that Feena, Mullen, Leen, and the others were amid the flames as well, and they, too, were unscathed. The Battlers, however, were screeching in agony, like a thousand tormented souls. The dragon closed its mouth, and the flames disappeared. Neither Justin nor any of the others harmed by the dragon's breath, but the Battlers had all been reduced to smoldering ashes.

It was then that Justin realized where the dragon came from. Justin, Feena, Mullen, and Leen had summoned it when they used the Power of the Heroes and Icarians.

TO BE CONTINUED